No Country is Cyber Ready

In the wake of the current international cyber attacks, the words of Melissa Hathaway, leading expert in cyberspace policy and cyber security, "developing a comprehensive national cybersecurity strategy should start with aligning a country's economic vision with its national security imperatives" are amplified.

Melissa Hathaway, Potomac Institute Board of Regents member and Senior Fellow, developed a unique methodology for evaluating and measuring national level cyber security risk preparedness, the Cyber Readiness Index (CRI). CRI serves as a blueprint for understanding Internet-infrastructure dependencies and vulnerabilities.

The Cyber Readiness Index 2.0 shows that few countries have aligned their national economic vision (digital agenda) with their national security agenda, and seeks to incentivize this alignment by bringing attention to each country's Internet-infrastructure dependencies and vulnerabilities, and the national economic erosion caused by cyber insecurity. The CRI 2.0 builds on the Cyber Readiness Index 1.0 and provides a comprehensive, comparative, experience-based methodology to evaluate countries' commitment and maturity to closing the gap between their current cyber security posture and the national cyber capabilities needed to support their digital future.

The CRI 2.0 methodology is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish, and is currently being applied to 125 countries. The resulting country reports are based on over seventy unique indicators across seven essential elements to discern operationally ready activities and identify areas for improvement in the following categories: national strategy, incident response, e-crime and law enforcement, information sharing, investment in research and development (R&D), diplomacy and trade, and defense and crisis response. The CRI country profiles of France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States can be found below and at the following link: http://www.potomacinstitute.org/academic-centers/cyber-readiness-index.

The “United States Cyber Readiness at a Glance,” is the first of a series of country reports assessing national-level preparedness for cyber risks based on the Cyber Readiness Index (CRI) 2.0 methodology. While the policy and rhetoric suggests that the US government is committed to enhancing the cyber security posture of the country, it remains challenged with following through and fully executing the programs and initiatives as outlined in its national cyber security strategies and policies.

The “Japan Cyber Readiness at a Glance,” is the second of a series of country reports assessing national-level preparedness for cyber risks based on the Cyber Readiness Index (CRI) 2.0 methodology. This report provides an extensive analysis of Japan’s cyber security-related efforts and capabilities, and follows a similar report on the United States' commitment and maturity to closing the gap between its current cyber security posture and the national cyber capabilities needed to support its digital future.

The “France Cyber Readiness at a Glance,” is the third of a series of country reports assessing national-level preparedness for cyber risks based on the Cyber Readiness Index (CRI) 2.0 methodology. This report provides an extensive analysis of France's cyber security-related efforts and capabilities, and follows similar reports of other G7 countries evaluating their commitment and maturity to closing the gap between their current cyber security posture and the national cyber capabilities needed to support their digital future.

The “Germany Cyber Readiness at a Glance,” is the fourth of a series of country reports assessing national-level preparedness for cyber risks based on the Cyber Readiness Index (CRI) 2.0 methodology. As a world leader in ICT development and adoption, Germany faces high levels of cyber crime, industrial espionage, disruption of critical services, and other malicious cyber activities. This reports evaluates how well Germany does at linking these risks to their economic and national security.

The “United Kingdom Cyber Readiness at a Glance,” is the fifth of a series of country reports assessing national-level preparedness for cyber risks based on the Cyber Readiness Index (CRI) 2.0 methodology. This report evaluates how the UK has been preparing its cyber defenses since making a cyber insecurity a “Tier one risk” to its economic and national security.

The “Italy Cyber Readiness at a Glance,” is the sixth of a series of country reports assessing national-level preparedness for cyber risks based on the Cyber Readiness Index (CRI) 2.0 methodology. This report evaluates how well Italy’s cyber capabilities and their progress executing their cyber security initiatives.

The “India Cyber Readiness at a Glance,” is the seventh of a series of country reports assessing national-level preparedness for cyber risks based on the Cyber Readiness Index (CRI) 2.0 methodology. Although India’s digital strategy has the potential to generate greater digital dividends and has already been quite successful in attracting foreign direct investments in the ICT sector, the government has yet to make cyber security an equal priority – aligned with the economic initiatives.

The “Netherlands Cyber Readiness at a Glance,” is the latest study in a series of country reports assessing national-level preparedness for cyber risks based on the Cyber Readiness Index (CRI) 2.0 methodology. This report provides the most in-depth analysis to date of the Netherlands' current cyber security posture and its efforts to strengthen the country's security and resilience in the face of emerging ICT threats.

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The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies is an independent, 501(c)(3), not-for-profit public policy research institute. The Institute identifies and aggressively shepherds discussion on key science and technology issues facing our society. From these discussions and forums, we develop meaningful science and technology policy options and ensure their implementation at the intersection of business and government.